For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Forest
FRX, -1.28%
posted net income of $250.3 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with $195.2 million, or 57 cents a share, for the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter leapt 18% to $893 million, from $758 million in 2005.

Analyst poll by Thomson First Call had been expecting the drugmaker to report earnings of 66 cents a share, on revenue of $837 million, on average.

Sales of the company's leading branded product, the antidepressant Lexapro, came in at $546 million, up from $$481 million last year. Sales of its Alzheimer's drug Namenda rose to $174 million, from $124 million in the 2005 period.

Forest said that due to stronger than expected sales, it was raising its fiscal 2007 earnings outlook to $2.79 to $2.84 a share from its earlier forecast of $2.60 to $2.65 a share. The revised projection excludes a one-time charge related to the acquisition of Cerexa, Inc. of about $1.54 per share, to be taken in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Analysts polled by First Call had been expecting a year-end profit of $2.70 a share, on average.

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